1. Wrongdoing is not erased by mere apologies and confessions.
Your sincere apology we accepted when you came

2. Seeking pardon for your trespass.
We forgave a slip that was not intended by you,

3. Nor did it arise from malice.
My knowledge of your pure affection suffices me,

4. Making your apology to me adequate.
Yet the wise one whose sleep is not disturbed

5. By ambiguities and differences of opinion,
His judgment is to take a weighty and clear view.

6. Had your wrong sprung from intent, not inadvertence,
We would have sought justice and redress.

7. We know you as the loyal keeper of secrets,
The guardian of trust, the just mediator.

8. In my eyes you have a status that poetry’s meters
Could never reckon or enumerate.

9. My backing you each morning springs not
From you, but from my nature and upbringing.

10. How often, by the just Imam, when they attacked
With sharp blades, did we shelter your feathers.

11. When you were stripped bare of retainers and guards
It was I who, for your sake, showed grace and favor.

12. I look upon you with the eye of one whose affection
Flows as pure as clear draughts of wine.

13. I watch over your welfare until I see
Its roots nourished, not withering and dry.